The Over Powerful Fifth Ward and How It Began

Last February, the Common Council adopted the new weighted vote, based on the 2010 census and impacted by the New York State law, passed in August 2010, requiring prisoners to be counted, for legislative purposes, in the communities where they were living prior to becoming prisoners instead of in the communities where they were incarcerated. The big winners in the new weighted vote were the aldermen from the Fifth Ward, whose weighted votes in a simple majority went from 278 to 364 each. Whereas before, the vote of an alderman from the Fifth Ward was 2.957 times more powerful than that of an alderman from the First Ward or the Fourth Ward, it is now 3.831 times more powerful. Put another way, an affirmative vote cast by an alderman representing the First Ward or the Fourth Ward represents a little more than 9 percent of the total votes needed for a simple majority, whereas an affirmative vote cast by one of the aldermen from the Fifth Ward represents 36 percent of the votes needed for a simple majority.

Various plans have been suggested to give more equity in representation. In 2003, there was a referendum on a proposal to eliminate the weighted vote by replacing the wards with election districts of equal population, whose boundaries would be redrawn after every decennial census. The referendum was defeated, probably in part because people feared microcosmic gerrymandering and also because there was, particularly with residents of the original part of the city, a reluctance to do away with the old ward boundaries that have existed for two centuries.

The Hudson Democrats have made eliminating or rebalancing the weighted vote a plank in their 2013 platform. Democratic mayoral candidate Victor Mendolia has suggested that an easy way to achieve better balance would be to create a Sixth Ward by dividing the Fifth Ward into two wards using the current election district boundaries.

This review of the weighted vote is by way of introducing another discovery made over the weekend: this item, which appeared in the Hudson Daily Evening Register for April 30, 1886, soon after the creation of the Fifth Ward. The text is transcribed below.

The Additional Ward for Hudson.

Now that the bill creating an additional Ward for this city has become law, there is much inquiry as to how and when the law goes into effect. The Act provides that--

"At the annual election for city and ward officers to be held in said city on the first Tuesday of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, there shall be elected in said Fifth Ward, one alderman to serve for the term of one year, from the first day of January next succeeding his election, and one alderman to serve for the term of two years from such first day of January, and thereafter the alderman annually elected in said ward shall serve for the term of two years from the first day of January next succeeding his election. * * * There shall be elected in said Fifth ward, at the annual election for city and ward officers, to be held in said city on the first Tuesday of December, eighteen hundred and eight-six, and annually thereafter, one supervisor, who shall serve for said ward." 

While it is not entirely clear, it seems that the Fifth Ward may have started out having only one alderman, who was elected first, in an even year, to a one-year term, so he could get on the same cycle as the rest of the aldermen, who were, as they still are today, elected at the end of an odd year to start their two-year terms at the beginning of an even year. One alderman from the Fifth Ward may have been a way of achieving representation proportionate to population, since in 1886, the Fifth Ward was definitely more sparsely populated than the other wards. This map of the Fifth Ward is from the 1888 Beers Atlas.

Meeting Reminder

The panel discussion and public forum about locating "The Bridge," an alternative learning program for students from the Hudson City School District and the Catskill Central School District, in the former Register-Star building at the corner of Warren and Fourth streets happens tonight at 6 p.m. at the Central Firehouse, 77 North Seventh Street. The agenda for the meeting can be viewed here.

How It Was Done in 1886

John Mason reports in today's Register-Star on the Common Council's confabulations about how to achieve uniform, walkable sidewalks throughout city: "City mulls sidewalk repair." Given that ongoing discussion among our current aldermen, the discovery today of this resolution, passed by the Common Council on April 29, 1886, and reported in the Hudson Daily Evening Register on April 30, 1886, seemed serendipitous.

Because the text of the resolution is hard to read, it is transcribed below. Alderman Barry represented the First Ward, but it seems he may also have been chair of the Street Committee. Most of the locations cited are in the First Ward, but the numbering of lots and houses did not change until 1888-1889, so it's possible one or two of the offending lots were in the Third Ward.

Resolved, The owner or owners, occupant or occupants of the respective lots hereinafter specified, are hereby required and directed to lay, relay, or repair, pave or repave, grade or regrade the sidewalk and gutter in front of said lots, respectively, and where required to pave or repave it shall be with four feet flag in the center and hard brick on the sides, and to set or reset the curb and lay or relay the gutter adjoining the sidewalk, as follows: The owner or owners, occupant or occupants, respectively, of lot on west side of South First street, between Union street and Cherry alley, and lots Nos. 51, 101, and 125 Union street, to repave walk and reset curb; lot on west side of Third street, between Union and Partition, to reset curb and relay gutter; lots Nos. 112, 110, 106, 104, 102, and 80 Allen street, to repave walk and reset curb, under the direction of the City Surveyor on lines and a grade to be given by him, within thirty days from the time of the service of a copy of this resolution upon said owners or occupants, respectively, in pursuance of sub-division 5, section 33 of the charter of the city of Hudson.

A Chance Discovery

The last private owners of the Dr. Oliver Bronson House, the National Historic Landmark on the grounds of the Hudson Correctional Facility, were Elizabeth and Matilda McIntyre. Their brother, John F. McIntyre, had purchased the house for his unmarried sisters in 1883.

I always imagined that the sisters were middle-aged spinsters when their brother bought them the house, which they called Glenwood, but I recently discovered--quite by accident--Matilda's obituary which appeared in the Register-Star on October 31, 1914.

   
Matilda, who was 53 when she died in 1914, would have been just 22 when her brother bought the house and she and her sister took up residence there. The year after Matilda's death, Elizabeth, who was 15 years older than Matilda, sold the house to the State of New York, to expand the Girls' Training School, with the understanding that she could continue living there during her lifetime. Elizabeth died in 1917, at the age of 71.

The photo of the house, from the period when it was the home of the McIntyre sisters (1883-1917), is from Historic Hudson's collection and appears on the blog Dr. Oliver Bronson House Day Book.

Does Hudson Need a Bomb-Sniffing Dog?

CBS News photo

According to a report on CBS News a couple weeks ago, there has been an increased demand for bomb-sniffing dogs since the Boston Marathon bombing in April. But does the City of Hudson need one?

At Thursday night's Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting, John "Duke" Duchessi, who handles grant writing and administration at the Hudson Development Corporation, spoke of applying for a grant to acquire a K-9 Unit for the Hudson Police Department--specifically, a bomb-sniffing dog. It was unclear if the perceived need for a bomb-sniffing dog originated with the HPD (Duchessi said something about a hazards assessment) or was inspired by there being federal money currently available for such things.

Fine Dining in Hudson 70 Years Ago

It was the middle of World War II. Food was being rationed. Forty percent of the vegetables consumed on the home front came from victory gardens. Still, in spite of it all, you could get a sumptuous meal at the General Worth Hotel. Here is the menu for October 24, 1943.

A whole broiled lobster for $1.75 seems like a really good deal until you consider that the average annual salary in 1943 was something like $1,300.

In the Courtyard

In the Register-Star article about the Planning Commission giving site plan approval for the new use of 364 Warren Street as an alternative learning school, John Mason reports that Daniel Kent, executive director for the Galvan Foundation, said the ALP program would have "access to the recently renovated courtyard on Warren Street." "Recently renovated" raised a question. Was stripping it of every bit of foliage--magnolias, holly bushes, and other shrubs--what was meant by "recently renovated"? It turns out it wasn't. The report suggests the renovation has already happened, but it hasn't happened yet. 

Today, a crew was pulling up the brick paving in the courtyard. What will replace is not known.

Intel from Thursday Night's Committee Meeting

Sometimes information can be gleaned at a committee meeting long before it gets on the radar of the general public. The Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting on Thursday night may have provided one of those opportunities.

In her report to the committee, Sheena Salvino, executive director of HDC (Hudson Development Corporation) and HCDPA (Hudson Community Development & Planning Agency), talked about site planning for the former Kaz warehouse at the junction of Cross Street and Tanners Lane. The immediate response came from committee member John Friedman (Third Ward), who pointed out that the warehouse was in a floodplain, and, given the expected effects of climate change on the Hudson River, there would be at least two inches of water there in twenty years.

When Salvino explained that the HDC board had asked her to start thinking about site planning, Don Moore, Common Council president and chair of the committee, suggested that she involve Omni Housing Development, since "we're working with them," and they have "experience doing this sort of thing"--"this sort of thing" being developing affordable housing not designing buildings that can accommodate the expected return of South Bay.

It has been more than two years since we've heard anything about Omni Development and the plan to demolish Bliss Towers and replace it with dozens of duplexes scattered throughout the Second and Fourth wards or perhaps throughout the whole city. In January 2011, we learned that Omni had hired Tim O'Byrne, a site selection specialist from BBL, to work on the Bliss Towers replacement project. At some point in the last two years, Moore commented that the project was having trouble finding enough potential building sites, but no more information has been forthcoming. Moore's mention of Omni on Thursday was a reminder that the plan has not been abandoned, although its current status is unknown.

Interestingly, 248 and 250 Columbia Street, which are soon to be demolished by their owner to make way for a new five-unit apartment building, were on Fourth Ward supervisor Bill Hughes' list of fourteen buildings he thought could be demolished to make way for Bliss Towers replacement units. That was in September 2010. According to tax records, the current owner bought 250 Columbia Street in June 2011 and 248 Columbia Street in July 2012.

If the plan, as presented in April 2010, for replacing the 132 units of Bliss Towers with two-household buildings scattered throughout the city is moving forward unchanged, it should be of enormous concern to the property owners of the city. It will affect the entire city, and it should not be moving toward implementation without the public being made aware of what is happening. The first plank in the Hudson Democrats' 2013 platform, which addresses the staggering property tax burden in Hudson, states: "We support initiatives to increase housing density to help drive down taxes." As originally presented, the plan to replace Bliss Towers, which seems to be an attempt to provide a semblance of the American dream of suburbia in a city with a land area of about two square miles, is the antithesis of increasing housing density to help drive down taxes.
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So Long, Old Houses

The owner of these two houses--248 and 250 Columbia Street--was at the Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday night to submit an application for site plan approval. He intends to demolish the two houses and build on their footprint one new building that will have five one-bedroom apartments. The applicant said that Peter Wurster, code enforcement officer, had reviewed and approved the plans for the new building, but, checking the bulk requirements in the city code, Cheryl Roberts, city attorney and counsel to the Planning Commission, raised a red flag. 

The site is zoned R-4, and the minimum required size for a "dwelling unit" in R-4 is 1,500 square feet. Roberts pointed out that an apartment is a "dwelling unit," and since the total square footage of the new building being proposed is 1,700 square feet, there is no way that each of the five apartments can be 1,500 square feet. It seems like it may be time to refine the code and clarify the terminology.
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Of Interest: Hudson on YouTube

An incident that took place last night at the Half Moon, involving a Hudson police officer, was recorded and published on YouTube.
Gossips Note: At about 4:00 p.m. today, this video went "Private." The reason for this action is not known. 

The Return of the Turret

63 North Fifth Street in 1929

63 North Fifth Street in April 2012

63 North Fifth Street day before yesterday

63 North Fifth Street yesterday

Historic photograph courtesy Historic Hudson

Photos from the past week courtesy Jamison Teale

Bridging the Gap

At the moment this post was published, the Register-Star online poll showed that those who are fine with locating an alternative learning program at 364 Warren Street had a .2 percent lead over those who think it should be someplace else. On Monday, August 19--seven days before Daniel Kent expects the building will have its certificate of occupancy and sixteen days before the school year begins--there is to be a panel discussion that seems intent on making everybody feel fine about the plan. 

According to HCSD superintendent Maria Suttmeier, the spirit in which the invitation is being extended to the public is "a better understanding of the vision of both the school district and community." Common Council president Don Moore will moderate the panel discussion, which concludes with a forty-minute public forum.

Here's the agenda:

• 6:00–6:05  Opening Remarks (Moderator Donald Moore, Common Council President)
• 6:05-6:15  Hudson/Catskill Partnership Vision (Superintendent Maria Suttmeier, Hudson City Schools, and Superintendent Kathleen Farrell, Catskill Central Schools)
• 6:15-6:35  The Bridge ALP (Superintendent Bruce Potter, Berkshire Union Free Schools)
• 6:35-6:45  The Bridge Financials (Superintendent Bruce Potter, Berkshire Union Free Schools, and School Business Executive Robert Yusko, Hudson City Schools)
• 6:45-7:30  Public Forum (Moderator Donald Moore)

The meeting takes place, as so many other memorable meetings have, at the Central Firehouse, 77 North Seventh Street in Hudson.

A Building Changes Owners

Gossips regularly reports on buildings purchased by the acquisitive Eric Galloway and his several LLCs and not-for-profits. Today, for a change, we're going to report on a building that Galloway didn't buy: the factory building at the corner of Allen and Second streets, most recently the home of Irv Schroder & Sons All Steel Services.

In 2005 or there about, rumors abounded that Galloway was thinking of buying, was about to buy, had already bought this building, but the rumors turned out to be false. For years, the possible sale of this building--out of place in a residential neighborhood--has been the stuff of hearsay and speculation. It was for sale. It wasn't for sale. A sculptor who made giant works in metal wanted to buy it for studio and living space. Someone who designed outdoor gear for women talked of using it as an atelier and retail shop. There were perennial tales about interested buyers and curiously vacillating sellers.

Finally, this week, Gossips has received confirmation that the building has been sold. The new owners are Nick and Carrie Haddad. Nick Haddad told Gossips that they planned to convert the space into artist's studios, but his first priority was to improve the exterior appearance of the building. Haddad shares Gossips' fondness for the Art Deco design of the entrance and a curiosity about what the building's original doorway looked like. 

Some interesting things are known about the site of the building. From 1792 to 1837, before Allen Street (then called Federal Street) extended east beyond Second), it was the location of the first First Presbyterian Church. In the early decades of the 20th century, Mrs. Isaac Newton Collier, who lived in the Greek Revival mansion across the street (now St. Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox Church), owned the lot and maintained it as a formal garden. George Duguay, whose father was Mrs. Collier's chauffeur, tended the garden when he was a boy.

Little, however, is known about the building itself. Searching for some information, Gossips discovered this advertisement, which appeared in the Chatham Courier for July 24, 1947. One line in this appeal for employees by a children's wear manufacturer not only reveals the building's original use but also provides a clue about when the building was constructed: "BRAND NEW MODERN FACTORY. Built Especially For You."

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Happy Anniversary to Us

Fourteen years ago today, I met this handsome guy at an animal shelter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was love at first sight, and we've been together ever since.

"Every year of dog love is worth seven of the human kind."

Planning Commission Gives Site Plan Approval

As predicted, the Planning Commission on Wednesday night approved the plan to locate the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy in the former Register-Star building at Warren and Fourth streets.

After discussing at some length whether staff members who drive to the location should be required to park in a designated parking lot or simply prohibited from parking on Warren Street (they ultimately decided on the latter), the five members of the Planning Commission who could participate in the deliberation and the vote--Don Tillson (chair), Cappy Pierro, Gail Grandinetti, Claudia DeStefano, and Glenn Martin--agreed unanimously to approve the resolution before them. (Of the two Planning Commission members not voting, Cleveland Samuels recused himself because he is employed by Galvan Partners/Galvan Foundation, Laura Margolis was absent.)

The four-page resolution, which apparently was drafted by Jonathan Cohen, attorney for the Galvan Foundation, contains some interesting details. Third in the litany of fifteen Whereases is this one, which quotes Hudson's rarely referenced 2002 Comprehensive Plan to justify siting an alternative learning program in the heart of the commercial district:

WHEREAS, as stated in Goal 3 of the City's Comprehensive Plan under "Create Improved Educational Opportunities for Residents": "In a community as diverse as Hudson, a culture of learning can serve as a glue that makes residents understand and appreciate those things they hold in common, along with those things that set them apart from each other. A community that promotes learning on the part of all its residents will certainly be more economically competitive, more culturally vibrant, and more civically involved and responsible."

The thirteenth Whereas mentions this goal from the eleven-year-old Comprehensive Plan again as one of the reasons why the project will have no adverse impact on community character:

WHEREAS, the Planning Commission finds that the project will not create an adverse impact to Hudson's community character as a school is an as of right permitted use in the C-C District and the City's Comprehensive Plan acknowledges as a goal, the creation of improved educational opportunities for all of its residents and such project shall serve Hudson students, among others.

Never in the discussion of the plan at the special meeting on Thursday, August 8, was the impact on community character mentioned or considered.

In Tillson's remarks after the vote, there was a hint that the written comments received from Warren Street business owners had been "taken into consideration" as he promised they would. "Whether you support this or not," said Tillson, "it's not an ideal location." Addressing the applicants, who represented the Galvan Foundation not the school districts involved, he continued, "We encourage you to look for another spot. If you haven't found one in two years, you need to come back."
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Ear to the Ground

Rumor has it that Peter Wurster, Hudson code enforcement officer, is resigning. Some say he plans to leave as early as the end of August. There is speculation that the mayor may not appoint Wurster's replacement until after the election because appointing a successor could be controversial.

Cultural Pollination or Logo Piracy?

We expect to see visual evidence of New York City's influence on Hudson but not necessarily Hudson's influence on New York City, so this is a surprise. On Monday, Chad Weckler's observant eye spied an Asian restaurant on Lexington Avenue near 62nd Street calling itself lilliandloo, and he took this picture.

Not only is the name almost the same as liliandloo here in Hudson (Melinda Slover spells lili with two ls not three), but the font and the use of color to distinguish the words on the sign are the same. All that's missing on the restaurant sign is the wonderful swoosh of color that forms a long macron over the double o.

Of Interest

The Register-Star has introduced an online survey that asks if you approve of locating the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy at 364 Warren Street or feel it should be somewhere else? Click here to make your opinion known.

More About "The Bridge"

At the HCSD Board of Education meeting last night, Bruce Potter made a PowerPoint presentation about "The Bridge," a.k.a. the Columbia-Greene Partnership Academy. Some interesting information about the program emerged. The program is based on the work of New Zealand educational researcher John Hattie, author of Visible Learning and Visible Learning for Teachers. A professional development coach trained in Visible Learning methodology will be working with the teachers, and those teachers will be "some of the most talented staff" from Berkshire Union Free School. The students in the new program are students from the Hudson City School District and the Catskill Central School District who would otherwise be bused to Canaan for the day program at Berkshire Union Free School. Although the program at Berkshire is only for boys, the program planned for 364 Warren Street will have both male and female students.

A couple of audience members left after Potter's presentation, when they were told they could not ask questions or make comments until the public forum part of the meeting. When it finally came time for the public forum, at 8:45 p.m., most of the members of the public remaining wanted to comment about PINS (person in need of supervision), ask for a re-vote on the code of conduct, or urge that Lorraine Del Vecchio be retained as the coordinator of substitute teachers.

There were, however, some comments and questions during the public forum that elicited new information about the decision to house the "Bridge" program at 364 Warren Street. When an audience member commented that the twenty-six students (the number of HCSD students expected to be in the program) was just "a drop in the bucket" when it came to the total number of students in need of such a program, HCSD superintendent Maria Suttmeier revealed, "We're looking for something larger." Another audience member, concerned that, in the past, ALP students had been promised things they didn't get, wanted to know how the school district was going to "get past the negativity in the community," if a back-up plan was needed, and if the building would be ready by the time school started.

Responding to the last of the three questions, Potter said they had been given "every assurance [by the Galvan Foundation] that the building will be ready." Suttmeier, however, acknowledged that construction has stopped because the project has not been issued a building permit. She went on to say that "the ball was dropped with introducing us to the community," explaining that she had been critically ill during the month of July. She called 364 Warren Street "a temporary stop." "We're not planning to stay there," she said.

Addressing the issue of "negativity," Suttmeier said there were "a lot of misconceptions." She excused her failure to engage the community earlier in the planning process by saying her attention "was on my district and the program." She also indicated that she was "shocked" that the community had reacted as it did. She promised to "try to mend fences" and "help people understand what we are planning to do here" and concluded her comments on the topic by saying, "The decision was made with the students in mind."

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Historic Odds & Ends

Back in the 1970s, the Register-Star had a regular column called "Kramer's Corner," which had the secondary title "Odds and Ends." The column was often a kind of potpourri of loosely related historical tidbits. Such was the case with the offering for July 3, 1972, which includes these two intriguing items.

DID YOU KNOW THAT . . . The last execution in the Columbia County area took place in Hudson 90 years ago. About 15 years ago, the discovery of almost 100 human bones in the hills near Austerlitz revived memories of Oscar Beckwith[,] Simon Vandercook's murderer[,] who eventually was hanged for this crime in Hudson. Until about 10 years ago, there were at least two persons still living who remembered seeing Beckwith led up and down Warren St., by his jailer. A sign hung around his neck, read "Shake Hands With A Murderer For A Penny." The late Ernest Lasher, who lived to be almost 100 and who died several years ago, told me he had begged his father for 10 cents to give to Beckwith so that he could buy tobacco.

THE WARREN ST. BUILDING THAT houses The Register-Star was built as a jail in 1805. An old iron door to one of the cells, with a narrow slot in it through which the prisoners used to be fed is still on the premises. . . . 

NOT MANY PEOPLE are aware that one of Hudson's most famous landmarks, the fountain in the 8th St. Park [sic], would have long since been demolished had it not been for the generosity of Sam Finkelstein. In the mid-1950s, the base of the fountain became cracked and it was feared it might topple on youngsters playing there. The fountain was offered for sale to Mr. Finklestein, who had it removed from its base. He then told city authorities that if they would build a safe and study new base he would return it to the city, free. He did. That's why the fountain is still there to add pleasure to all who frequent the park.

The story of Oscar Beckwith is a grisly tale of murder and cannibalism which sounds more like something that might have happened in the Klondike than in Columbia County. In January 1882, Beckwith, who was mining for gold near Austerlitz, murdered a fellow prospector, Simon Vandercook. Beckwith cut his victim's body into little pieces and packed them in a pork barrel, but he kept out the heart and the liver, which he was reportedly eating when the posse arrived at the cabin that had been the scene of the crime. Surprisingly, Beckwith managed to escape on foot to Canada. It was three years before he was arrested, and another three years before he was tried and sentenced. 

You can read the whole story in the recollections of David C. Neefus, which appeared in the Chatham Courier for January 28, 1954. At the time of the hanging, on March 1, 1888, Neefus, then a young man of 24, worked for the Hudson Republican, and all of the newspaper staff got "free passes" to the spectacle from the county sheriff.

The story of the fountain's near demise in the mid-1950s is new to me. Sadly, thirty years after the fountain was saved by Sam Finklestein's largesse, the fountain was removed permanently and replaced by "Inspiration Fountain," the fountain we have now. 
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